[KWPeace-groups] New opinion pieces, 7 actions & 10 upcoming events: Blue Scarf Earth Day event, Youth Summit Against NATO, Canada’s Feminist Foreign Policy & more

[Tamara Lorincz]

Hello everyone, 

Please see list of 10 upcoming events and 7 actions below. Feel free to share. *Please be sure to sign our open letter to Pope Francis to pray with us that Canada not buy new fighter jets before Monday, April 26: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwl1Cflxldx993tbjCqMR1hIY-LSDcDqEy3nfMuHawITzTMw/viewform    

READ: “View of Canada’s approach to defence spending needs a wider lens”
By DOUGLAS ROCHE, The Hill Times (short article critiques military spending, new fighter jets and warships and says we need investment in diplomacy, climate and health care)
https://www.hilltimes.com/2021/04/16/view-of-canadas-approach-to-defence-spending-needs-a-wider-lens/293693

READ: “We need a better and more caring economy”
By Colleen Fuller, Rabble (excellent article critiques spending for new fighter jets and warships and says we need investment in a feminist care economy) https://rabble.ca/news/2021/04/we-need-better-and-more-caring-economy 

WATCH: 30 seconds Raging Grannies Toronto new song “Effin New Jets” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqsE-QBFcsI    

Have a nice weekend,
Tamara

(1)
CAN YOU PARTICIPATE IN A ROLLING FAST AGAINST FIGHTER JETS TO SUPPORT BRENDAN & VANESSA?    
Dr. Brendan Martin in BC and VOW’s National Coordinator Vanessa Lanteigne have been fasting for 7 days against Canada’s plan to spend $77 billion to buy 88 new fighter jets, to stop Canada’s arms exports to Saudi Arabia, and to end the war in Yemen. They are trying to fast until April 23. It would be great to have people fasting alongside him over the next 7 days. If so, please let us know. Please send us your picture and why you are fasting and we will create a testimonial and share it on social media. Thanks for your support Send us an email at: mailto:nofighterjets at gmail.com  

(2)
HOT TAKES ON THE FEDERAL BUDGET: WHERE ARE WE GOING WITH THE FEMINIST FOREIGN POLICY?
April 21th, 2021 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. EDT (GMT -0400) Webinar hosted by Group of 78 On April 19, the Canadian government will release its first budget in two years. We’ve lined up five foreign policy experts to share their quick reactions on what the budget says – or fails to address – in the fields of environment, trade, aid, defence and diplomacy. The panellists will also briefly reflect on what the implications are for Canada’s Feminist Foreign Policy, to be followed by a Q&A period.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/hot-takes-on-the-federal-budget-tickets-149179151859 

(3)
EVENT: BLUE SCARF EARTH DAY RALLY “PROTECT OUR PLANET & INDIGENOUS COMUNITIES”
Friday, April 23, 2021 • 7:00 PM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00) Host Contact Info: mailto:canada at worldbeyondwar.org Come learn about the Blue Scarf peace movement, the Indigenous struggle against the militarization of their lands, and the campaign to stop the Canadian government from buying new fighter jets.
This event will feature brief presentations by the authors of two new books: “Nutaui’s Cap” by Bob Bartel and “I Keep the Land Alive” by Tshaukuesh Elizabeth Penashue. “Nutaui’s Cap” is a children’s book about the NATO fighter jet training in Labrador from the 1980s and how it adversely affected the Innu people and how they resisted this military activity in their territory. “Nitinikiau Innusi: I Keep the Land Alive” is based Penashue’s personal diaries of how she led the Innu campaign against NATO low-level flying and bomb testing on Innu land over two decades. Penashue and many Innu people were arrested and imprisoned for protesting and occupying the Goose Bay runways and they also travelled across Canada and Europe to raise awareness about their struggle to protect their land. 
Authors Bob Bartel and Tshaukuesh Elizabeth Penashue (invited) will do a reading from their books and discuss the long, courageous struggle by the Innu people against the Canadian Air Force and NATO fighter jet testing in their territory.
We will also hear briefly from Tamara Lorincz, co-founder No New Fighter Jets Coalition and member of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, who will talk about the campaign to stop Canada from buying 88 new fighter jets for $77 billion and how you can help cancel this costly, carbon-intensive procurement. 
At the end, we welcome you to stay to experience an energizing and motivational live DJ Performance brought to you by SheCycle and DJ Kiish.
Co-sponsored by the Basilian Centre for Peace and Justice, Pax Christi Toronto, World BEYOND War, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, SheCycle, Camp Micah, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Development and Peace Toronto, and KAIROS.
To purchase a copy of the 2019 book “Nutaui’s Cap”, please go to: https://www.goodminds.com/nutaui%E2%80%99s-cap-text-bob-bartel-and-illustrations-mary-ann-penashue-hardcover-ed
To purchase a copy of the 2019 book “I Keep the Land”, please go to: https://www.goodminds.com/nitinikiau-innusii-keep-land-alive
To Register Click Here, for more details and updates check out the Facebook Event Page Here.   

(4)
WEBINAR: YOUTH SUMMIT AGAINST NATO
Saturday, April 24, 2021
11:00 AM (ET) / 17:00 (CEST)
 Speakers:
•	Moderator: Angelo Cardona, International Peace Bureau Advisory Board, World Beyond War (Colombia)
•	Lucas Wirl, Co-chair, No to War-No to NATO (Germany)
•	Lucy Tiller, Youth and Student, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK)
•	Dirk Hoogenkamp, NVMP-Artsen voor Vrede, European student representative to the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) (Netherlands)
•	Vanessa Lanteigne, National Coordinator, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (Canada)
 
Join this 90-minute webinar to hear from youth peace activists about their opposition to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The future of the alliance depends on young people. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said that ''young people have the greatest stake in NATO's future'' during the NATO 2030 Youth Summit held in November last year. The new agenda of the transatlantic alliance called “NATO 2030” seeks to indoctrinate younger generations into the false narrative of militarized security that the alliance has promoted for decades. The first Youth Summit Against NATO will gather young leaders from the peace movement to share their thoughts about resisting NATO and the implications this nuclear-armed alliance will have for their future. 
 
Organized by the International Peace Bureau. To register: https://www.ipb.org/events/youth-summit-against-nato/   
More for information, please email: mailto:info at ipb-office.berlin Endorsed by the No to War-No to NATO Network.

(5)
WEBINAR: CANADA'S FEMINIST FOREIGN POLICY: RHETORIC OR REALITY?
Apr 29, 2021 12:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) / 9:00 AM PT The Canadian government will soon release its Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) after months of consultation. But what will it include and what policies are needed to make the rhetoric of feminism a reality? This webinar, organized by WILPF Canada, will present an overview of how the FFP process has evolved, including recent consultations; what the key principles of feminist foreign policy are; and take a critical look at existing foreign policy. The webinar will also be an opportunity to hear from WILPF Sweden about what has, and what has not, worked well in the context of Sweden’s FFP.
Please join us in this 90-minute webinar that also marks the 106th anniversary of the founding of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
Speakers include: Allison Pytlak (WILPF International), Gabriella Irsten (WILPF Sweden), Bianca Mugyenyi (Canadian Foreign Policy Institute) and Tamara Lorincz (PhD Candidate, Balsillie School of International Affairs).  Moderated by Dr. Noga Gayle of WILPF Canada.
Organized by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) – Canada.
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrcuCrqzojHt1ZDYjyE3Ejka9G46JqnCYk
More info: https://wilpfvancouver.ca/ 

(6)
MILITARISM & CLIMATE CHANGE: DISASTER IN PROGRESS
Start: Thursday, April 29, 2021 • 7:00 PM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00) Science for Peace & World Beyond War Host Contact Info: mailto:canada at worldbeyondwar.org
Register: https://actionnetwork.org/events/militarism-climate-change-disaster-in-progress

(7)
NUCLEAR RISK-REDUCTION AND DISARMAMENT: IS IT TIME FOR NO-FIRST-USE POLICIES IN THE USA AND GLOBALLY?
29 April 2021 17h15 - 18h30
Washington DC (EDT) 11:15am, London 4:15pm, Paris/Berlin: 5:15pm, Moscow 6:15pm. 
'No-first-use’ is a policy that can be adopted by a nuclear armed (or allied) state to never initiate a nuclear exchange by being the first to use nuclear weapons. China and India have declared such policies. The Soviet Union/Russia had such a policy from 1982 to 1993. There are emerging political opportunities for the adoption of no-first-use policies by others – particularly the United States and its allies (NATO/Japan/South Korea and Australia). This webinar, Nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament: Is it time for no-first-use policies in the USA and globally?, will explore whether such policies reduce the risk of a nuclear war and pave the way for multilateral nuclear disarmament, how such policies can be operationalised, what new initiatives are advancing such policies, and political forces and security arguments supporting or preventing their adoption.
Chair: Marc Finaud, (France/Switzerland), Head of Arms Proliferation at Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Speakers: 
•	Mr Thomas Countryman (USA), Chair of the Arms Control Association Board of Directors, Former United States Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-proliferation
•	Mr Andrey Baklitskiy (Russia), Senior Research Fellow, Center for Advanced American Studies, Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry
•	General Bernard Norlain (France), Former Air Defence Commander and Air Combat Commander of the French Air Force. Vice-President of Initiatives pour le Désarmement Nucléaire
•	Lord Hannay of Chiswick (UK), Chair, All Party Group on Global Security and Non-proliferation
•	Commander Robert Forsyth (UK), Former Nuclear Submarine Commanding Officer, Royal Navy
•	Ms Uta Zapf (Germany/NATO/OSCE), Former Chair of the Bundestag Subcommittee on Disarmament and Arms Control
•	Ms Yasmeen Silva (USA), Partnerships Manager, Beyond the Bomb.
Register now: https://gcsp.force.com/GCSPCommunity/s/app-registration?productId=01t5p00000Bk4dr

(8)
FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION: “THE BERRIGANS: DEVOUT AND DANGEROUS”
Tuesday, May 4th at 6:30 pm Central. 
More info and to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/inaugural-berrigan-mcalister-award-tickets-147618327391 

(9)
WEBINAR: “FROM WEAPONS FAIRS TO WAR ZONES: UNRAVELING THE WAR MACHINE”
#NOWAR2021 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE: JUNE 4-6, 2021. Register now!
https://nowar2021.worldbeyondwar.org/ 
	
(10)
SECOND INTERNATIONAL PEACE BUREAU WORLD PEACE CONGRESS Barcelona this October 15-17. 
Check out this promotional video with Dr. Noam Chomsky: https://youtu.be/yfMSOOKghd8   
Please share on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/IPBWPC/videos/254257923059145
And Twitter: https://twitter.com/IPBWPC2021/status/1380074463102963719
More info: https://www.ipb2021.barcelona/ 


ACTIONS:
(1)
SIGN: GLOBAL APPEAL TO REDUCE MILITARY SPENDING, DEFEND PEOPLE AND THE PLANET Please join us demanding governments around the world to reduce their military expenditures! 
Sign: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/appeal-reduce-military-spending-defend-people-and-the-planet
The world spent $1.92 trillion on the military in 2019, a 3.6% increase over the previous year and the highest figure since the end of the Cold War. Our governments' ever-growing military capacities, in the name of national security, have proved themselves completely useless to defend people from the COVID-19 pandemic, nor can they keep us safe in the face of other global emergencies such as climate change. In addition, as the victims of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere can testify, militarism makes conflicts worse rather than resolving them. Current levels of military spending not only fail to provide true security, but they actually stand in the way of just and comprehensive solutions to the problems urgently demanding our attention. 
We therefore demand that governments across the globe drastically reduce their military expenditures, especially those accounting for the largest shares of the world’s total spending, and reallocate the freed-up resources to human and common security-oriented sectors, notably for confronting the coronavirus pandemic and the eco-social collapse we are now facing.
Join the Global Days of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) from April 10 to May 17. To find out more visit our website. You can also read this Appeal in Spanish and French.

(2)
SIGN OUR OPEN LETTER TO POPE FRANCIS TO PRAY AGAINST FIGHTER JETS (DEADLINE APRIL 26) We invite you to add your name to our open letter Pope Francis to pray with us that the Government of Canada led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who is Catholic will not buy new fighter jets and instead will invest in the “care for our common home”. You don’t have to be Catholic to sign on, everyone is welcome. 

Sign the Open Letter https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwl1Cflxldx993tbjCqMR1hIY-LSDcDqEy3nfMuHawITzTMw/viewform.

The Pope has made peace a priority for his papacy. Every January 1st, the Pope gives his World Peace statement. In 2015, he released an important encyclical urging action on climate change. In his Easter address this year, the Pope said “The pandemic is still spreading, while the social and economic crisis remains severe, especially for the poor. Nonetheless – and this is scandalous – armed conflicts have not ended and military arsenals are being strengthened.” 
(Pope Francis, Easter Message, Urbi er Orbi, 4 April 2021)

*Please share widely our appeal for signatures on our open letter to Pope Francis, we want to get 1,000 signatures by Monday, April 26.

(3)
SIGN: LETTER SUPPORTING THE SYRIAN PEOPLE – END THE WAR IN SYRIA Letter Condemning US Attacks on Syria and in the Middle East by nited National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) https://unac.notowar.net/statement-of-solidarity-with-the-syrian-people/ 

(4)
SIGN: END SANCTIONS AGAINST VENEZUELA
Please send a letter to Members of Parliament calling on the Canadian government to end sanctions against Venezuela https://www.commonfrontiers.ca/endsanctionsagainstvenezuela/

(6)
SIGN: END THE SAUDI ARMS DEAL
Use your voice to demand that the Canadian government immediately cancel its arms deal with Saudi Arabia, one of the warring parties in Yemen.
Sign the petition here: https://www.oxfam.ca/campaign/end-the-saudi-arms-deal/ 

(6)
SIGN: DEMAND AFGHAN WOMEN PEACE BUILDERS ARE INCLUDED IN AFGHAN PEACE PROCESS As the Afghan Peace process inches forward with a meeting in Turkey scheduled for mid-April, an inclusive and just process remains as important as ever. The inclusion of women will inform the substance of the meeting, give legitimacy to the process, and increase the chance of peace. 
This open letter calls on Friends of Afghanistan and Champions of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda to take concrete action to ensure the systematic presence of the Afghan women peacebuilders in the upcoming Turkey meeting and beyond.
Letter in English & Farsi:  https://icanpeacework.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Open-Letter-to-Friends-of-Afghanistan_ENGLISH.pdf
We hope you will consider signing on to the letter - which builds on other statements and letters that are circulating - by Sunday, April 11, 2021. (Sign on form)
SIGN: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=AItXUZ5EcUygPUkaXB6VftgacJLSxVlHqBKq2kT-OsBUNktINktWWVkxSlk2TDg2VTZLNEFCMlRIMC4u&utm_source=ICAN%2BContacts&utm_campaign=20857fb119-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_10_19_01_58_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2b8d8886e6-20857fb119-196096562

(7)
PRE-ORDER THE BOOK: “BANNING THE BOMB, SMASHING THE PATRIARCHY”
In case you missed it, watch the webinar “NATO & the Patriarchy” with WILPF Reaching Critical Will’s director Ray Acheson: https://www.no-to-nato.org/2021/03/nato-and-the-patriarchy-video-with-ray-acheson/
Based on her chapter: “Peace Perspectives on NATO 2030”: https://natowatch.org/sites/default/files/2021-02/peace_research_perspectives_on_nato_2030.pdf 

*Pre-order Ray Acheson’s new book “Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy” https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781786614896/Banning-the-Bomb-Smashing-the-Patriarchy  and use the pre-order discount code is RLFANDF30. 
*We will be having a book launch with Ray in Canada in May 2021. Stay tuned!

Pre-Order The Book: “Banning The Bomb, Smashing The Patriarchy”